Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys). Often strange, occasionally useful, and always worth a stop as a point of interest on your journey through the Intertron.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

An aside...safety first!

There are reasons to follow the rules in making bath & body products, the main one being that you want to make awesome products. The other one is safety. I know all these lectures on safety can get a bit boring at times - believe me, I roll my eyes at all the "you're going to die horribly if you don't do this" ads on TV - but they're necessary to create products that won't hurt our end user.

Take a look at this recall of Glittersniffer cosmetics (linked to the complaint blog). We see the use of non-eye safe ingredients in eye products, and that's led to scratched corneas and horrible infections. (This is also fascinating case of what happens when you don't follow the business rules as well as she doesn't have insurance or a business licence!) Take a look at this recall of tainted alcohol wipes used in the hospital that caused a young boy's death (which is an example of why alcohol may not be the great preservative we all think). And finally, take a look at this post by Anne-Marie of the Soap Queen blog/Brambleberry/Otion on the mouldy lotion she bought from a local spa (she did not make this herself! She believes in preserving her products well!)

There's a very good reason that I write posts like this - if you want to make products without preservatives - and I spend my time researching preservatives and ways of making our products. I do it because I want to make the safest products possible, and I share it with you, my wonderful readers, because I want you to be safe as well.

I'm not trying to be some irritant reminding you to heat and hold, follow the good manufacturing practices, or use preservatives; I'm trying to keep you and the people you love safe. (Click here for all the things I mention in this last paragraph). In two of the three cases above, the problems could have been avoided by doing one of these three things. If the company in question had used preservatives, that lotion wouldn't look as green and awful. If the cosmetics company referred to their information on what is eye safe, they wouldn't have had to recall all those products. Doing a few little things safely can make all the difference.

Ironically, I know most of the people who want to make products without preservatives are doing it for health reasons, but the problems that can occur when we don't preserve our products well are proven to be far more harmful for our health than the theoretical harm that can come from including a tiny amount of preservative.

Susan What a great post. About a year ago, I had you asked a question about a butter that I had bought and could not see the preservative. It was from a local company that is currently thinking about opening franchises across Canada. I have not had time to make a butter like you had suggested for about a quarter of the cost as I am a full time student and wife etc. My bad because as of yesterday I was told by my doctor that I was having allergic reaction to the butter that I thought was healing my skin. My husband is now on board and I will DEFINITELY stop using all their products and make my own. By the way they state on their bottles that they use potassium sorbate and ROE as preservatives. In the store the sales clerk lets you know they do not use harsh chemicals like parabens, mineral oils or SLS. I should have known but it was the last thing I eliminated in our home. It took my skin breaking out in hives and continual itching for the last 3 months to put 2 and 2 together. This post could not have been more timely for me!

Speaking of ecoli...I remember reading a post somewhere earlier this year, a buyer took some GS to get lab tested and they found evidence of feces particles. Not much of a surprise when Lela admits to having her "work area" in her kid's play area, and has posted various photos of her not wearing gloves when handling products :P

This woman makes all the time and effort I've put into my store, which will open when it's ready, look like a damn joke. Her callous disrespect and general distaste makes me...I lose my cool and that is not professional. I sound like I laugh a lot, and I do, but I take this business very, very seriously. I can't believe she broke the law, and she's getting fined. I just don't get it. I'm in her general area and I'm wondering how much damage control I'll have to do because of her? I've already run into people online who swear they'll never purchase from a MMU formulator because of her. It's not fair, but I can't wash away what this woman did and seems to be, still doing. It makes me want to cry.

I can only take photos of me and my gloves hard at work over my minerals with my mask on and post them. I can also do a blog post about FDA approved colors and what to look for when you buy from a formulator online. Almost everyone I've run into in this business is a stand up person who is very clean and follows all the rules.

I know this is very old, but I've been working my way through the archives chronologically, and I just clicked on that GlitterSniffer link -- wow!! How anyone thought that putting SOAP DYES in cosmetics AND THEN SELLING THEM is absolutely beyond me.

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Welcome to the blog!

Thanks for stopping by Point of Interest! Pull up a chair, grab your favourite hot beverage, and hang out for a bit. Feel free to add your comments to posts of any age to share your thoughts! It's no fun writing this blog if I don't get to hear from you, my amazing readers!

If you're asking for help with a formula, I need the complete formula in percentages and your exact process. I can't help without these, and I won't be able to do a back-and-forth with you to get the information.

As for comments, please find a relevant post and write your comment there. There's no point asking for help with your lotion bar on a post about conditioners as no one will see it but you. Please find something that relates by doing a search or looking at sections like hair care, newbie links, or extracts, for example, post your comments there. It'll make it easier for other people to help you if I can't find time, too. If you post something that is very clearly not related to the post in which you're asking for help, it will go unanswered by me.

There are no old posts! Write your comments anywhere and I will see them, although they will be moderated before posting due to the aforementioned spammers.

Unfortunately I'm not able to offer business consultations at this time as I'm simply too busy. Thank you so much for thinking of me when you need assistance with your formulations. (I may be able to offer this in the future.) To clarify, if you sell products you're a business. It doesn't matter how large or small you may be, if you make money with your products, you're a business.

As a note, I am not affiliated with any suppliers or manufacturers of any craft supplies of any type. If I rave about something, it's because I love the ingredient, fabric, beads, etc. not because I've been paid to say something nice! I do get free things from time to time from manufacturers and suppliers, but I make them aware that I will be brutally honest about those ingredients on the blog!

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My e-books

To raise money for our youth groups, I've put together these e-books! If you want to learn more about the books or donate, click on the bolded links!

Or click here for a short description of all the e-books!The new e-book is here! Formulating Facial Products! This 399 page e-book is filled with recipes for facial products, including moisturizers, sera, cleansers (oil and surfactant based), scrubs, gels, and more, as well as entries for ingredients like botanical extracts, cosmeceuticals, emulsifiers, thickeners, essential oil, and more, as well as a large appendix about our oils.

Click here to see the table of contents! If you make a $28 donation to our youth programs, we'll send you a copy of this e-book along with the preservatives, oils, butters, and surfactant charts as a thank you for your kind generosity!

Formulating & Creating Lotions! This 224 page e-book is perfect for those of you familiar with lotion making and ready to start creating your own recipes! I've included all the information I know about the HLB system, as well as my base recipes for lotions, creams, body butters, and moisturizers!

Click here to see the table of contents! If you make a $26 donation to my youth programs, I'll send you a copy of this e-book, an HLB calculator in Excel format, and the carrier oil, exotic oil, butter, and preservative comparison charts.

Lotion Making 101. This 305 page book includes everything you wanted to know about the basics of making lotions, including the chemistry of our lotions, ingredients we use, keeping your lotions safe, equipment you might need, and more recipes than I could count! For those of you who don't have the Back to Basics book, I've included all the carrier oil, exotic oil, and butter profiles.

Click here to see the table of contents. If you make a $29 donation to my youth groups, I'll send you along a copy of this e-book as a thank you. I'll also send you a copy of the carrier oil, exotic oil, butter, and preservative comparison charts!

Back to Basics: Anhydrous Products. This 122 page e-book includes over 50 recipes and explanations for making lotion bars, whipped butters, balms, oil based scrubs, bath melts, bath oils, oil based sprays, solid scrubs, and facial sera, as well as all the carrier oil, exotic oil, and butter profiles and everything I've gathered about the chemistry of our oils including fatty acids, mechanisms of rancidity, phytosterols, and polyphenols.

Click to take peek at the Table of Contents. If you make a $25 donation to the groups, I'll send you a copy by e-mail as a thank you!

Click on the links above to learn more about the books. If you already know what you want or want to make a general donation, click the button below! (I'll know which e-book you want by the amount you've donated!) Thank you so much for supporting our youth groups. You have made it possible for us to continue offering our programs and we finally got that sewing machine! If you click on this link to my new website, you'll see all the e-books there! From now on, when you buy an e-book, it'll get sent automatically to you and you can always find the link to download it again.

I've had to remove my cell phone number and - as of October 10th, 2017 - my work number due to a number of calls from people wanting to learn how to make products. If you're attending the groups, please use the contact information on the pamphlet to get in touch. If you want to know more about them - until we get a new email address created, I'm afraid there isn't a way to get in touch.

DO NOT CALL OR TEXT ME AT ANY PHONE NUMBER TO HELP YOU WITH A FORMULA. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE FOR ANYONE. NONE. PLEASE RESPECT MY BOUNDARIES.

Who the heck is Swift?

I'm an aspiring cosmetic scientician and DIY girl interested in pretty much any craft you can name - bookbinding, jewellery making, sewing, paper crafts, polymer clay - but my main passion is bath & body product making.
I am currently obsessed with Rock Band (bass and singing) and science books. Did you know my favourite word is "toaster" and my favourite adjective is "hirsute"?